German airline Lufthansa has been given the go- ahead by the European Commission’s competition watchdog to take control of competing carrier British Midland (bmi.) Lufthansa, which already owns just under 30 pe cent of bmi shares, is to buy a further 50 percent of the company. The Commission said that, despite overlap between the two firms’ networks, competition would not be unduly affected. Both airlines are part of the Star Alliance network.